Pipe-renewal projects fast-tracked after sinkhole review

City workers surround the large sinkhole that swallowed a car on eastbound Highway 174 off-ramp at the Jeanne d’Arc exit in Orléans (Ottawa) in this Tuesday, September 4, 2012 file photo. Although the sinkhole has been repaired, a dip in the pavement covering it has blown some tires.

Photograph by: Mike Carroccetto
, The Ottawa Citizen

OTTAWA — Two projects to renew pipes under Highway 174 will be fast-tracked in the wake of this month’s sinkhole incident, city manager Kent Kirkpatrick told councillors Friday.

The re-lining of a 2.1-metre-diameter metal culvert west of the Montreal Road exit and a 1.8-metre-diameter culvert west of Orléans Boulevard is to be expedited after a review determined the work should be sped up, Kirkpatrick wrote in a memo.

Mayor Jim Watson called for large metal culverts along important city roads to be inspected after the failure of a massive 3.6-metre diameter corrugated steel pipe caused a sinkhole that swallowed a car at Jeanne d’Arc Boulevard on Sept. 4.

Like the culvert that collapsed, both of those being renewed early are categorized as being in poor to very poor condition. They were scheduled to be re-lined within the next couple of years, according to the city. (Staff announced soon after the sinkhole incident that they were pushing up work planned for the pipe west of Montreal Road, which was installed in 1983 and was due to be re-lined in 2013 or 2014.)

“It is important to note that this work is not being done because of concerns of any imminent failure,” Kirkpatrick wrote.

The pipe that failed was due to be re-lined this year, and also wasn’t thought to be in danger of collapsing, the city has said. A contractor was cleaning it out before it failed, something the city says is a coincidence.

Watson has ordered an independent review to be completed within the next few months to identify the cause of the collapse and what, if anything, the city could have done to prevent it. A firm that hasn’t before worked for the city is to conduct the review, Kirkpatrick wrote, and a contract should be in place by Oct. 10.

The city has about four kilometres of metal storm sewer pipes, about 700 metres of which is scheduled to be re-lined within the next year, the memo says. Another 2.2 kilometres of pipe has been re-lined or replaced within the past decade, and the remaining 1.1 kilometres is considered to be in fair to good condition, and not in need of work.

The inspection review focused on 45 aging metal culverts larger than one metre in diameter, and, more specifically, 17 found in “critical” locations along major routes such as highways, the Transitway and arterial roads, Kirkpatrick wrote.

The 17 were visually inspected and found to be in fair to poor shape, and the city is planning to renew them in five to 10 years, the memo says. The other 28 culverts are smaller than the one that failed and are to be assessed by the end of the year, it states.

The memo also corrected earlier staff comments about the pipe under the eastbound lanes being older than the one under the westbound lanes. Staff had said the pipe on the eastbound side was at least 50 years old, but closer inspection determined that both sections were installed in the mid-1970s, Kirkpatrick wrote.

The pipe under the eastbound lanes was non-galvanized steel and deteriorated much faster than the galvanized steel section under the westbound lanes, the memo states, adding that the pipe under the westbound lanes has been confirmed as being in fair to good condition.

“The difference in storm sewer pipe materials used in this culvert is unique compared to those found at other culverts throughout the city,” the memo says.

The review follows another city staff report that looked at culverts across the city — not just those under important roads — and determined that pipes under three metres in diameter were largely in poor or very poor condition. Staff have recommended the city boost the amount of money it spends to maintain the city’s $32 billion in assets over the next decade, from $80 million a year to $165 million a year.

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City workers surround the large sinkhole that swallowed a car on eastbound Highway 174 off-ramp at the Jeanne d’Arc exit in Orléans (Ottawa) in this Tuesday, September 4, 2012 file photo. Although the sinkhole has been repaired, a dip in the pavement covering it has blown some tires.

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